Zechariah 8-14 - Prayer Tents

Zechariah 8

Promised Blessings for Jerusalem

8Then another message came to me from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies:H1697H3068H6635H5592“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: My love for Mount Zion is passionate and strong; I am consumed with passion for Jerusalem!H559H3068H6635H7065H6726H1419H7068H7065H1419H25343“And now the Lord says: I am returning to Mount Zion, and I will live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will be called the Holy Mountain.H559H3068H7725H6726H7931H8432H3389H3389H7121H5892H571H2022H3068H6635H6944H20224“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Once again old men and women will walk Jerusalem’s streets with their canes and will sit together in the city squares.H559H3068H6635H2205H2205H3427H7339H3389H376H4938H3027H7230H31175And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls at play.H7339H5892H4390H3206H3207H7832H73396“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: All this may seem impossible to you now, a small remnant of God’s people. But is it impossible for me? says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H559H3068H6635H6381H5869H7611H5971H3117H6381H5869H5002H3068H66357“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: You can be sure that I will rescue my people from the east and from the west.H559H3068H6635H3467H5971H4217H776H3996H8121H7768I will bring them home again to live safely in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be faithful and just toward them as their God.H935H7931H8432H3389H5971H430H571H66669“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Be strong and finish the task! Ever since the laying of the foundation of the Temple of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, you have heard what the prophets have been saying about completing the building.H559H3068H6635H3027H2388H8085H3117H1697H6310H5030H3117H3245H1004H3068H6635H3245H1964H112910Before the work on the Temple began, there were no jobs and no money to hire people or animals. No traveler was safe from the enemy, for there were enemies on all sides. I had turned everyone against each other.H6440H3117H1961H7939H120H7939H929H7965H3318H935H6862H7971H120H376H745311“But now I will not treat the remnant of my people as I treated them before, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H7611H5971H7223H3117H5002H3068H663512For I am planting seeds of peace and prosperity among you. The grapevines will be heavy with fruit. The earth will produce its crops, and the heavens will release the dew. Once more I will cause the remnant in Judah and Israel to inherit these blessings.H2233H7965H1612H5414H6529H776H5414H2981H8064H5414H2919H7611H5971H515713Among the other nations, Judah and Israel became symbols of a cursed nation. But no longer! Now I will rescue you and make you both a symbol and a source of blessing. So don’t be afraid. Be strong, and get on with rebuilding the Temple!H7045H1471H1004H3063H1004H3478H3467H1293H3372H3027H238814“For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: I was determined to punish you when your ancestors angered me, and I did not change my mind, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H559H3068H6635H2161H7489H1H7107H559H3068H6635H516215But now I am determined to bless Jerusalem and the people of Judah. So don’t be afraid.H7725H2161H3117H3190H3389H1004H3063H337216But this is what you must do: Tell the truth to each other. Render verdicts in your courts that are just and that lead to peace.H1697H6213H1696H376H571H7453H8199H4941H571H7965H817917Don’t scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the Lord.”H376H2803H7451H3824H7453H157H8267H7621H8130H5002H306818Here is another message that came to me from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H1697H3068H6635H55919“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: The traditional fasts and times of mourning you have kept in early summer, midsummer, autumn, and winter are now ended. They will become festivals of joy and celebration for the people of Judah. So love truth and peace.H559H3068H6635H6685H7243H6685H2549H6685H7637H6685H6224H1004H3063H8342H8057H2896H4150H157H571H796520“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: People from nations and cities around the world will travel to Jerusalem.H559H3068H6635H935H5971H3427H7227H589221The people of one city will say to the people of another, ‘Come with us to Jerusalem to ask the Lord to bless us. Let’s worship the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. I’m determined to go.’H3427H259H1980H259H559H3212H1980H2470H6440H3068H1245H3068H6635H321222Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord of Heaven’s Armies and to ask for his blessing.H7227H5971H6099H1471H935H1245H3068H6635H3389H2470H6440H306823“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”H559H3068H6635H3117H6235H582H2388H3956H1471H2388H3671H376H3064H559H3212H8085H430

Zechariah 9

Judgment against Israel’s Enemies

9This is the message from the Lord against the land of Aram and the city of Damascus, for the eyes of humanity, including all the tribes of Israel, are on the Lord.H4853H1697H3068H776H2317H1834H4496H5869H120H7626H3478H30682Doom is certain for Hamath, near Damascus, and for the cities of Tyre and Sidon, though they are so clever.H2574H1379H6865H6721H3966H24493Tyre has built a strong fortress and has made silver and gold as plentiful as dust in the streets!H6865H1129H4692H6651H3701H6083H2742H2916H23514But now the Lord will strip away Tyre’s possessions and hurl its fortifications into the sea, and it will be burned to the ground.H136H3423H5221H2428H3220H398H7845The city of Ashkelon will see Tyre fall and will be filled with fear. Gaza will shake with terror, as will Ekron, for their hopes will be dashed. Gaza’s king will be killed, and Ashkelon will be deserted.H831H7200H3372H5804H3966H2342H6138H4007H3001H4428H6H5804H831H34276Foreigners will occupy the city of Ashdod. I will destroy the pride of the Philistines.H4464H3427H795H3772H1347H64307I will grab the bloody meat from their mouths and snatch the detestable sacrifices from their teeth. Then the surviving Philistines will worship our God and become like a clan in Judah. The Philistines of Ekron will join my people, as the ancient Jebusites once did.H5493H1818H6310H8251H8127H7604H430H441H3063H6138H29838I will guard my Temple and protect it from invading armies. I am watching closely to ensure that no more foreign oppressors overrun my people’s land.H2583H1004H4675H5674H7725H5065H5674H7200H5869

Zion’s Coming King

9Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt.H1523H3966H1323H6726H7321H1323H3389H4428H935H6662H3467H6041H7392H2543H5895H1121H86010I will remove the battle chariots from Israel and the warhorses from Jerusalem. I will destroy all the weapons used in battle, and your king will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.H3772H7393H669H5483H3389H4421H7198H3772H1696H7965H1471H4915H3220H3220H5104H657H77611Because of the covenant I made with you, sealed with blood, I will free your prisoners from death in a waterless dungeon.H1818H1285H7971H615H953H432512Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles.H7725H1225H615H8615H3117H5046H7725H493213Judah is my bow, and Israel is my arrow. Jerusalem is my sword, and like a warrior, I will brandish it against the Greeks.H1869H3063H4390H7198H669H5782H1121H6726H1121H3120H7760H2719H136814The Lord will appear above his people; his arrows will fly like lightning! The Sovereign Lord will sound the ram’s horn and attack like a whirlwind from the southern desert.H3068H7200H2671H3318H1300H136H3069H8628H7782H1980H5591H848615The Lord of Heaven’s Armies will protect his people, and they will defeat their enemies by hurling great stones. They will shout in battle as though drunk with wine. They will be filled with blood like a bowl, drenched with blood like the corners of the altar.H3068H6635H1598H398H3533H7050H68H8354H1993H3196H4390H4219H2106H419616On that day the Lord their God will rescue his people, just as a shepherd rescues his sheep. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.H3068H430H3467H3117H6629H5971H68H5145H5264H12717How wonderful and beautiful they will be! The young men will thrive on abundant grain, and the young women will flourish on new wine.H2898H3308H1715H970H5107H8492H1330

Zechariah 10

The Lord Will Restore His People

10Ask the Lord for rain in the spring, for he makes the storm clouds. And he will send showers of rain so every field becomes a lush pasture.H7592H3068H4306H6256H4456H3068H6213H2385H5414H1653H4306H376H6212H7704 2Household gods give worthless advice, fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of dreams pronounce falsehoods that give no comfort. So my people are wandering like lost sheep; they are attacked because they have no shepherd.H8655H1696H205H7080H2372H8267H1696H7723H2472H5162H1892H5265H6629H6031H7462 3“My anger burns against your shepherds, and I will punish these leaders. For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has arrived to look after Judah, his flock. He will make them strong and glorious, like a proud warhorse in battle.H639H2734H7462H6485H6260H3068H6635H6485H5739H1004H3063H7760H1935H5483H4421 4From Judah will come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the bow for battle, and all the rulers.H3318H6438H3489H4421H7198H5065H3162 5They will be like mighty warriors in battle, trampling their enemies in the mud under their feet. Since the Lord is with them as they fight, they will overthrow even the enemy’s horsemen.H1368H947H2916H2351H4421H3898H3068H7392H5483H3001 6“I will strengthen Judah and save Israel; I will restore them because of my compassion. It will be as though I had never rejected them, for I am the Lord their God, who will hear their cries.H1396H1004H3063H3467H1004H3130H3427H7355H834H2186H3068H430H6030 7The people of Israel will become like mighty warriors, and their hearts will be made happy as if by wine. Their children, too, will see it and be glad; their hearts will rejoice in the Lord.H669H1368H3820H8055H3196H1121H7200H8055H3820H1523H3068 8When I whistle to them, they will come running, for I have redeemed them. From the few who are left, they will grow as numerous as they were before.H8319H6908H6299H7235H7235 9Though I have scattered them like seeds among the nations, they will still remember me in distant lands. They and their children will survive and return again to Israel.H2232H5971H2142H4801H2421H1121H7725 10I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will resettle them in Gilead and Lebanon until there is no more room for them all.H7725H776H4714H6908H804H935H776H1568H3844H4672 11They will pass safely through the sea of distress, for the waves of the sea will be held back, and the waters of the Nile will dry up. The pride of Assyria will be crushed, and the rule of Egypt will end.H5674H3220H6869H5221H1530H3220H4688H2975H3001H1347H804H3381H7626H4714H5493 12By my power I will make my people strong, and by my authority they will go wherever they wish. I, the Lord, have spoken!”H1396H3068H1980H8034H5002H3068

Zechariah 11

11Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire may devour your cedar forests.H6605H1817H3844H784H398H730 2Weep, you cypress trees, for all the ruined cedars; the most majestic ones have fallen. Weep, you oaks of Bashan, for the thick forests have been cut down.H3213H1265H730H5307H117H7703H3213H437H1316H3293H1208H1219H3381 3Listen to the wailing of the shepherds, for their rich pastures are destroyed. Hear the young lions roaring, for their thickets in the Jordan Valley are ruined.H6963H3215H7462H155H7703H6963H7581H3715H1347H3383H7703

The Good and Evil Shepherds

4This is what the Lord my God says: “Go and care for the flock that is intended for slaughter.H559H3068H430H7462H6629H2028 5The buyers slaughter their sheep without remorse. The sellers say, ‘Praise the Lord! Now I’m rich!’ Even the shepherds have no compassion for them.H7069H2026H816H4376H559H1288H3068H6238H7462H2550 6Likewise, I will no longer have pity on the people of the land,” says the Lord. “I will let them fall into each other’s hands and into the hands of their king. They will turn the land into a wilderness, and I will not rescue them.”H2550H3427H776H5002H3068H4672H120H376H7453H3027H3027H4428H3807H776H3027H5337 7So I cared for the flock intended for slaughter—the flock that was oppressed. Then I took two shepherd’s staffs and named one Favor and the other Union.H7462H6629H2028H3651H6041H6629H3947H8147H4731H259H7121H5278H259H7121H2254H7462H6629 8I got rid of their three evil shepherds in a single month. But I became impatient with these sheep, and they hated me, too.H7969H7462H3582H259H3391H5315H7114H5315H973 9So I told them, “I won’t be your shepherd any longer. If you die, you die. If you are killed, you are killed. And let those who remain devour each other!”H559H7462H4191H4191H3582H3582H7604H398H802H1320H7468 10Then I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, showing that I had revoked the covenant I had made with all the nations.H3947H4731H5278H1438H6565H1285H3772H5971 11That was the end of my covenant with them. The suffering flock was watching me, and they knew that the Lord was speaking through my actions.H6565H3117H6041H6629H8104H3045H1697H3068 12And I said to them, “If you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to.” So they counted out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.H559H5869H2896H3051H7939H2308H8254H7939H7970H3701 13And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—this magnificent sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potter in the Temple of the Lord.H3068H559H7993H3335H145H3366H3365H3947H7970H3701H7993H3335H1004H3068 14Then I took my other staff, Union, and cut it in two, showing that the bond of unity between Judah and Israel was broken.H1438H8145H4731H2254H6565H264H3063H3478 15Then the Lord said to me, “Go again and play the part of a worthless shepherd.H3068H559H3947H3627H196H7462 16This illustrates how I will give this nation a shepherd who will not care for those who are dying, nor look after the young, nor heal the injured, nor feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat the meat of the fattest sheep and tear off their hooves.H6965H7462H776H6485H3582H1245H5289H7495H7665H3557H5324H398H1320H1277H6561H6541H6561 17“What sorrow awaits this worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! The sword will cut his arm and pierce his right eye. His arm will become useless, and his right eye completely blind.”H1945H457H7473H5800H6629H2719H2220H3225H5869H2220H3001H3001H3225H5869H3543H3543

Zechariah 12

Future Deliverance for Jerusalem

12This message concerning the fate of Israel came from the Lord: “This message is from the Lord, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the human spirit.H4853H1697H3068H3478H5002H3068H5186H8064H3245H776H3335H7307H120H7130 2I will make Jerusalem like an intoxicating drink that makes the nearby nations stagger when they send their armies to besiege Jerusalem and Judah.H7760H3389H5592H7478H5971H5439H4692H3063H3389 3On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves.H3117H7760H3389H4614H68H5971H6006H8295H8295H1471H776H622 4“On that day,” says the Lord, “I will cause every horse to panic and every rider to lose his nerve. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of their enemies.H3117H5002H3068H5221H5483H8541H7392H7697H6491H5869H1004H3063H5221H5483H5971H5788 5And the clans of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The people of Jerusalem have found strength in the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, their God.’H441H3063H559H3820H3427H3389H556H3068H6635H430 6“On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a flame that sets a woodpile ablaze or like a burning torch among sheaves of grain. They will burn up all the neighboring nations right and left, while the people living in Jerusalem remain secure.H3117H7760H441H3063H3595H784H6086H3940H784H5995H398H5971H5439H3225H8040H3389H3427H3389 7“The Lord will give victory to the rest of Judah first, before Jerusalem, so that the people of Jerusalem and the royal line of David will not have greater honor than the rest of Judah.H3068H3467H168H3063H7223H8597H1004H1732H8597H3427H3389H1431H3063 8On that day the Lord will defend the people of Jerusalem; the weakest among them will be as mighty as King David! And the royal descendants will be like God, like the angel of the Lord who goes before them!H3117H3068H1598H3427H3389H3782H3117H1732H1004H1732H430H4397H3068H6440 9For on that day I will begin to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.H3117H1245H8045H1471H935H3389 10“Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.H8210H1004H1732H3427H3389H7307H2580H8469H5027H1856H4553H5594H3173H4843H4843H1060 11The sorrow and mourning in Jerusalem on that day will be like the great mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddo.H3117H1431H4553H3389H4553H1910H1237H4023 12“All Israel will mourn, each clan by itself, and with the husbands separate from their wives. The clan of David will mourn alone, as will the clan of Nathan,H776H5594H4940H4940H905H4940H1004H1732H802H4940H1004H5416H802 13the clan of Levi, and the clan of Shimei.H4940H1004H3878H802H4940H8097H802 14Each of the surviving clans from Judah will mourn separately, and with the husbands separate from their wives.H4940H7604H4940H802

Zechariah 13

A Fountain of Cleansing

13“On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity.H3117H4726H6605H1004H1732H3427H3389H2403H5079 2“And on that day,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will erase idol worship throughout the land, so that even the names of the idols will be forgotten. I will remove from the land both the false prophets and the spirit of impurity that came with them.H3117H5002H3068H6635H3772H8034H6091H776H2142H5030H2932H7307H5674H776 3If anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and mother will tell him, ‘You must die, for you have prophesied lies in the name of the Lord.’ And as he prophesies, his own father and mother will stab him.H376H5012H1H517H3205H559H2421H1696H8267H8034H3068H1H517H3205H1856H5012 4“On that day people will be ashamed to claim the prophetic gift. No one will pretend to be a prophet by wearing prophet’s clothes.H3117H5030H954H376H2384H5012H3847H8181H155H3584 5He will say, ‘I’m no prophet; I’m a farmer. I began working for a farmer as a boy.’H559H5030H376H5647H127H120H7069H5271 6And if someone asks, ‘Then what about those wounds on your chest?’ he will say, ‘I was wounded at my friends’ house!’H559H4347H3027H559H5221H1004H157

The Scattering of the Sheep

7“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man who is my partner,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs.H5782H2719H7462H1397H5997H5002H3068H6635H5221H7462H6629H6327H7725H3027H6819 8Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die,” says the Lord. “But one-third will be left in the land.H776H5002H3068H8147H6310H3772H1478H7992H3498 9I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”H935H7992H784H6884H3701H6884H974H2091H974H7121H8034H6030H559H5971H559H3068H430

Zechariah 14

The Lord Will Rule the Earth

14Watch, for the day of the Lord is coming when your possessions will be plundered right in front of you!H3117H3068H935H7998H2505H71302I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the population will be taken into captivity, and the rest will be left among the ruins of the city.H622H1471H3389H4421H5892H3920H1004H8155H802H7901H7693H2677H5892H3318H1473H3499H5971H3772H58923Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past.H3068H3318H3898H1471H3117H3898H3117H71284On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a wide valley running from east to west. Half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south.H7272H5975H3117H2022H2132H6440H3389H6924H2022H2132H1234H2677H4217H3220H3966H1419H1516H2677H2022H4185H6828H2677H50455You will flee through this valley, for it will reach across to Azal. Yes, you will flee as you did from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all his holy ones with him.H5127H1516H2022H1516H2022H5060H682H5127H5127H6440H7494H3117H5818H4428H3063H3068H430H935H69186On that day the sources of light will no longer shine,H3117H216H3368H7087H70877yet there will be continuous day! Only the Lord knows how this could happen. There will be no normal day and night, for at evening time it will still be light.H259H3117H3045H3068H3117H3915H6153H6256H2168On that day life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean, flowing continuously in both summer and winter.H3117H2416H4325H3318H3389H2677H6931H3220H2677H314H3220H7019H27799And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshiped.H3068H4428H776H3117H259H3068H8034H25910All the land from Geba, north of Judah, to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become one vast plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up in its original place and will be inhabited all the way from the Benjamin Gate over to the site of the old gate, then to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.H776H5437H6160H1387H7417H5045H3389H7213H3427H1144H8179H4725H7223H8179H6434H8179H4026H2606H4428H334211And Jerusalem will be filled, safe at last, never again to be cursed and destroyed.H3427H2764H3389H983H342712And the Lord will send a plague on all the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their people will become like walking corpses, their flesh rotting away. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.H4046H3068H5062H5971H6633H3389H1320H4743H5975H7272H5869H4743H2356H3956H4743H631013On that day they will be terrified, stricken by the Lord with great panic. They will fight their neighbors hand to hand.H3117H7227H4103H3068H2388H376H3027H7453H3027H5927H3027H745314Judah, too, will be fighting at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the neighboring nations will be captured—great quantities of gold and silver and fine clothing.H3063H3898H3389H2428H1471H5439H622H2091H3701H899H3966H723015This same plague will strike the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the other animals in the enemy camps.H4046H5483H6505H1581H2543H929H1992H4264H404616In the end, the enemies of Jerusalem who survive the plague will go up to Jerusalem each year to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.H3498H1471H935H3389H5927H1767H8141H8141H7812H4428H3068H6635H2287H2282H552117Any nation in the world that refuses to come to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will have no rain.H5927H4940H776H3389H7812H4428H3068H6635H165318If the people of Egypt refuse to attend the festival, the Lord will punish them with the same plague that he sends on the other nations who refuse to go.H4940H4714H5927H935H4046H3068H5062H1471H5927H2287H2282H552119Egypt and the other nations will all be punished if they don’t go to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.H2403H4714H2403H1471H5927H2287H2282H552120On that day even the harness bells of the horses will be inscribed with these words: Holy to the Lord. And the cooking pots in the Temple of the Lord will be as sacred as the basins used beside the altar.H3117H4698H5483H6944H3068H5518H3068H1004H4219H6440H419621In fact, every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. All who come to worship will be free to use any of these pots to boil their sacrifices. And on that day there will no longer be traders in the Temple of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H5518H3389H3063H6944H3068H6635H2076H935H3947H1310H3117H3669H1004H3068H6635